A backstage shot of the collection before it hit the ramp. (Photo courtesy: Sania Maskatiya and Lotus Pakistan)

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Models take the final walk for Sania Studio at NYFW. (Photo courtesy: Sania Maskatiya and Lotus Pakistan)

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Models posing in designs by Sania Studio. Sania Studio is the western wear branch of Maskatiya's fashion house, where the same Pakistani craftsmanship, fabric choice and Maskatiya signature prints are utilized with a non-eastern approach. (Photo courtesy: Sania Maskatiya and Lotus Pakistan)

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A shot of the make up and styling inspiration for Sania Studio SS/19. (Photo courtesy: Sania Maskatiya and Lotus Pakistan)

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Sania Studio on the ramp for the CAAFD emerging designer showcase at New York Fashion Week. (Photo courtesy: Sania Maskatiya and Lotus Pakistan)

Mastakiya sets the trend with NYFW first

Becomes the first Pakistani fashion designer to showcase at prestigious event

Talks about the experience and the market for Pakistan-based fashion products

Updated 12 September 2018

Sabah Bano Malik

September 12, 2018 14:04

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ISLAMABAD: In a first for Pakistan, fashion designer Sania Maskatiya showcased her collection at the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) on Monday.

“This is a big breakthrough, not just for me but also for Pakistan’s fashion industry,” Maskatiya said, adding that by participating in the NYFW, “the world will get to know more about Pakistan’s craftsmanship and that we as Pakistanis have so much more to offer”.

“I am super-psyched… after all the NYFW is one of the most prestigious fashion weeks worldwide!,” she said.

Considered as one of the most-coveted fashion events in the world, ever since its conception in 1943, the NYFW is a semi-annual, multi-day event which sets the tone for the fall/winter and spring/summer fashion seasons, including twice-a-year international ramps -- starting in New York -- making its way to Milan, Paris and other cities.

The Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers (CAAFD) -- a non-profit organization founded by a number of pioneers in the fashion industry -- aims to seek out, provide a platform and promote designers looking to increase brand awareness in the United States.

It has a long-standing tradition of producing an ‘emerging designer’ to showcase at the NYFW each year. This year it was Maskatiya’s turn.

Debuting with Sania Studio, a Spring/Summer 2019 collection that’s “reflective of the brand’s vanguard fondness for combining modern reduction and antique fantasy”, Mastakiya said she tried to play with rhythmic patterns, borrowed from ancient cultures, to “create a playfully-pulsating effect, draped with futuristic playfulness and poise, as its signature element”.

Over the past few years, Pakistani designers have taken their brands to not only an international audience but to a wider diaspora of shoppers, too.

The move, Mastakiya said, is a conscious effort to blend in the east with the west. “Some of the designers are also thinking about it. I sincerely believe a designer needs to challenge herself and by catering to a non-eastern target market I am setting new goals for myself,” she said.

Others to follow suit include Faraz Manan who opened a flagship store in Dubai, Khaadi which has stores across South East Asia and the UAE; and Elan.

Maskatiya’s models walked alongside those showcasing collections by Patricia Wijaya from Indonesia, Helene Bajaj-Larsen from France and Yufash from Estonia.

SpaceX rocket carrying moon-bound Israeli spacecraft lifts off

Israel's spacecraft is scheduled to land on the moon landing on April 11

Updated 22 February 2019

AFP

February 22, 2019 05:01

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WASHINGTON: A SpaceX rocket took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Thursday night carrying Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft, which aims to make history twice: as the first private-sector landing on the Moon, and the first from the Jewish state.
The start of the flight went smoothly, with the first stage entry burn completed uneventfully less than three minutes after lift-off.
The moon landing is scheduled for seven weeks’ time, on April 11.